Macbeth's soliloquy is occasioned by the sight of an imaginary dagger hovering before him. Macbeth interprets this vision as a sign that he is to carry out the murder of Duncan, saying that it "marshall'st me the way I was going." He is resolved to carry out the murder of Duncan even though he has already acknowledged that it is wrong, and he seems to believe, based on the vision and his encounter with the witches earlier in the play, that he is destined to commit the murder, driven by forces over which he has no control. In short, Macbeth is determined to commit the murder, but is still aware that it is a "bloody business" filled with "horror." In this soliloquy we see Macbeth grappling with several of the major themes and conflicts that we see throughout the play. He doesn't seem to know whether he is fated to commit the murder, or if he is doing it totally of his own volition. He knows, as we have seen already, that it is an evil deed, but his ambition (as well, perhaps, as the machinations of evil inhuman forces) drives him to do it.
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